A new paper in the Lancet assesses the impact of Planetary Electromagnetic Pollution.

“As the Planetary Health Alliance moves forward after a productive second annual meeting, a discussion on the rapid global proliferation of artificial electromagnetic fields would now be apt. The most notable is the blanket of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation, largely microwave radiation generated for wireless communication and surveillance technologies, as mounting scientific evidence suggests that prolonged exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation has serious biological and health effects. However, public exposure regulations in most countries continue to be based on the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which were established in the 1990s on the belief that only acute thermal effects are hazardous. Prevention of tissue heating by radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation is now proven to be ineffective in preventing biochemical and physiological interference. For example, acute non-thermal exposure has been shown to alter human brain metabolism by NIH scientists, electrical activity in the brain, and systemic immune responses. Chronic exposure has been associated with increased oxidative stress and DNA damage and cancer risk. Laboratory studies, including large rodent studies by the US National Toxicology Program and Ramazzini Institute of Italy, confirm these biological and health effects in vivo. As we address the threats to human health from the changing environmental conditions due to human activity, the increasing exposure to artificial electromagnetic radiation needs to be included in this discussion.”

“Due to the exponential increase in the use of wireless personal communication devices (eg, mobile or cordless phones and WiFi or Bluetooth-enabled devices) and the infrastructure facilitating them, levels of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation around the 1 GHz frequency band, which is mostly used for modern wireless communications, have increased from extremely low natural levels by about 10^18 (see Figure).”

Electromagnetic_Pollution

The paper concludes:

“At a time when environmental health scientists tackle serious global issues such as climate change and chemical toxicants in public health, there is an urgent need to address so-called electrosmog. A genuine evidence-based approach to the risk assessment and regulation of anthropogenic electromagnetic fields will help the health of us all, as well as that of our planetary home. Some government health authorities have recently taken steps to reduce public exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation by regulating use of wireless devices by children and recommending preferential use of wired communication devices in general, but this ought to be a coordinated international effort.”

In this video Guy Hudson talks about the Electric and Magnetic Power Frequencies Meter.

The PF5 is EMFields newest power-frequencies detector. The PF5 measures electric and magnetic EMFs from house wiring, including those from appliances at home at at work. The PF5, unlike most EMF meters on the market, also measures frequencies in the range from 20 Hz to well over 50 kHz. This enables the PF5 to measure the higher frequency electric and magnetic fields emitted by induction cooking hobs, solar-panel inverters, ‘energy-saving’ compact fluorescent (CFL) lamps and some LED lights.

These are amongst the most concerning new sources of our electromagnetic field exposures as the currents they induce in your body are proportional to the frequency. So a magnetic field at 25000 Hz (25 kHz) will induce 500 times more current in your body compared with same strength of field at 50 Hz. Induction hobs, in particular, induce some of the highest internal electric currents in your body in the VLF frequency range. Such currents have been shown to significantly affect the nervous system.

The PF5 is an easy to use, pocket sized, accurate, power-frequencies meter which is ideal for carrying around. It measures both electric and magnetic fields and is available labelled in either international microtesla (µT) units or in milliGauss (mG) units for America, Canada and Australia etc.

In this video Guy Hudson talks about the Acousticom 2 High Frequency Meter.

Why Buy?

This meter is a core part of equipment for anyone interested in Electrosensitivity and low electrosmog environments. It allows people to investigate the levels and sources of electrosmog in the most simple way and direct way. For what it does it is very good value for money. Not the quite cheapest meter on the market but the best for the money.

Technical Description from the Manufacturer

The Acousticom 2 is our newest microwave detector. It presents RF measurements as an audio signal, with LEDs and an alarm at high levels of RF (you can also switch the sound off if you prefer to be less obvious when taking readings). With simple controls, easy to read results, but still using the same advanced microwave detector as our Acoustimeter, this instrument is perfect for those on a budget. It is smaller and lighter than the Acoustimeter, and comes in its own carry pouch.

The Acousticom 2 was designed using the experience gained from many years of practical RF and microwave measurements. The advanced RF detector is the same as that used in the Acoustimeter. LED lights display the peak levels of microwave electromagnetic fields from 200 MHz up to over 8000 MHz (8 GHz), covering the frequencies used by most modern communication systems encountered in our everyday environment. This includes TETRA, all mobile phone systems including 4G/LTE, Smart Meters, and all WiFi and WiMax frequencies. The LEDs update rapidly, and allow you to quickly gauge the levels in an area and find any hot-spots. Its readout is sensitive to 0.01 V/m. When two LEDs are both lit next to each other, the exposure level is halfway between the two. This is only for levels above 0.1 V/m, e.g. when both 0.10 and 0.30 V/m are lit, the level is about 0.20 V/m (halfway between).

Two hundred and thirty four scientists from 41 nations have signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal.
All have published peer-reviewed research on Electromagnetic Fields and Health or Biology.

The International EMF Scientist Appeal serves as a credible and influential voice from EMF scientists who are urgently calling upon the United Nations and its sub-organizations, the WHO and UNEP, and all U.N. Member States, for greater health protection on EMF exposure.

The appeal was developed by a committee of the following scientists:

Martin Blank, Ph.D., Columbia University, USA

Magda Havas, Ph.D., Trent University, Canada

Elizabeth Kelley, MA, Director, EMFscientist.org

Henry Lai, Ph.D., University of Washington, USA

Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, USA

Twenty-one of the 234 scientists have provided quotes which can be viewed here.

Do not give them on old one with a small aerial in the top – these concentrate the radiation emissions right by the skull.

I have gone for an HTC One smartphone as the one that doses me least with microwave radiation in daily use.

They are a top end smartphone but support internet pass through – i.e. the phone will connect to the internet via a USB cable to any PC with the HTC software on. On Amazon they are priced from £115 upwards.

I don’t know of another manufacturer that supports this. All smartphones seem to need large downloads to support software updates which on other phones means lots of radiation from their data function.

At any time when near a PC with the HTC software connecting to the internet with a USB cable – it also charges the phone.

In use:

switch off all the transmitters except 3G phone-and-text – that means 4G, bluetooth, wifi, position, nfc, and data. The battery life is at least doubled.

temporarily switch on data only when needed. Get your child to learn how to use the usual apps – facebook etc. on their wired PC and with a wired connection to their phone at home..

never put a microwave transmitter (cordless and mobiles) to your head, always carry it in a bag, never in a pocket

always use an air tube headset (single ear – stereo ones are dangerous because you cannot hear what is going on around you and tangle a lot) and keep it plugged in so that you answer the phone by headset and hold the phone a good distance from the head when using it. Speaker-phone mode is not so good – it means transmitters closer to the head, are overheard and usually affected by background noise. Using the airtube headset – radiation to your brain is roughly 10,000 times less than compared to using the phone held to your ear.

you can use screening phone holders but they do nothing to reduce radiation (any attempt to shield a phone means they ramp up their power).

also blobs and buttons and stickers cannot counteract the powerful radiation ever, fully – if at all.

An increasing number of concerned parents and sometimes staff from schools are contacting Beneficial Environments for advice on mitigating the health risks of WiFi, and asking for a survey to be conducted at their schools.

If you are a concerned parent we suggest you contact your school head, and if necessary, lobby with other parents for a electromagnetic survey to be carried out.

A study has recently been published that provides the first evidence of a link between radio signals and nerve pain in people with amputated limbs. The senior author of the study, Dr Mario Romero-Ortega, said, “Our study provides evidence, for the first time, that subjects exposed to cellphone towers at low, regular levels can actually perceive pain”. The rats involved in the study received a nerve injury to simulate an amputation before being exposed to EMF signals equivalent to standing near a phone mast around 40 meters away for 10 minutes once a week for eight weeks. After just four weeks this short exposure time was enough to cause 88% of the rats to show a definite pain response to the signal. This study adds to the very real concerns associated with an excessive exposure to Electromagnetic Field sources, including electro-hypersensitivity, which has now been recognised as a functional disorder.

Anecdotal and clinical reports have suggested that radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF EMFs) may serve as a trigger for neuropathic pain. However, these reports have been widely disregarded, as the epidemiological effects of electromagnetic fields have not been systematically proven, and are highly controversial. Here, we demonstrate that anthropogenic RF EMFs elicit post-neurotomy pain in a tibial neuroma transposition model. Behavioral assays indicate a persistent and significant pain response to RF EMFs when compared to SHAM surgery groups. Laser thermometry revealed a transient skin temperature increase during stimulation. Furthermore, immunofluorescence revealed an increased expression of temperature sensitive cation channels (TRPV4) in the neuroma bulb, suggesting that RF EMF-induced pain may be due to cytokine-mediated channel dysregulation and hypersensitization, leading to thermal allodynia. Additional behavioral assays were performed using an infrared heating lamp in place of the RF stimulus. While thermally-induced pain responses were observed, the response frequency and progression did not recapitulate the RF EMF effects. In vitro calcium imaging experiments demonstrated that our RF EMF stimulus is sufficient to directly contribute to the depolarization of dissociated sensory neurons. Furthermore, the perfusion of inflammatory cytokine TNF-α resulted in a significantly higher percentage of active sensory neurons during RF EMF stimulation. These results substantiate patient reports of RF EMF-pain, in the case of peripheral nerve injury, while confirming the public and scientific consensus that anthropogenic RF EMFs engender no adverse sensory effects in the general population.

INTRODUCTION

Anthropogenic electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have become a ubiquitous presence in modern life. A broad spectral band of EMF frequencies (50 Hz–5 GHz) are now passing around us and through us, and are generated by sources ranging from electricity transport to mobile communication devices. While we have all undoubtedly benefited from the wide-ranging applications of commercial electronics, there is a growing social and scientific concern that persistent exposure to radio- and microwave-frequency (RF/MWF) EMFs may engender unforeseen adverse health effects in vulnerable subsets of our population.

Over the past thirty years, there have been numerous reports published on the epidemiological, animal, and cellular-level effects of RF EMF exposure [1–3], with the majority of these studies being conducted in vitro and focused on evaluating the potential relationship between cell phone usage and the incidence of certain types of cancer [4–6]. Many conclusions drawn from this field of study remain highly controversial [7,8], but sufficient evidence regarding EMF-tissue interactions has resulted in the adoption of national and international standards for health and occupational EMF exposure. More recently, there have also been anecdotal, case, and clinical reports that magnetic and electromagnetic fields of various frequencies may serve as a trigger for neuropathic and post-amputation pain [9–11].